Everything, or everyone, is accounted for.
Read the full origin →Established 1997 · researched & written by Gary Martin
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The phrase came to me in a dream; I'm not sure I've ever used it in anger, though it's quite familiar. The Dictionary of American Regional English cites Overland Monthly in 1883…
The expression "no love lost" can be traced back at least to 1585, in which it is used in Gary's second sense; the publication is "An Exposition Upon the Book of the Canticles" by…
To bite the bullet may have been used literally in antiquity. However, I think its usage, at least historically in America, is that biting the bullet is choosing to put a firearm…
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From the Phrase Finder Digest
- National Poetry Day Reveals How Poetic Craft Built Plain English
National Poetry Day puts verse in front of readers who rarely open a collection. Three phrases now used far from any poem, from rhyme nor reason to wax poetic, show how much of that craft has already slipped into ordinary speech.
30 September 2026
- The Political Phrases That Say Nothing About Politics
Party conference season fills the air with slogans like 'politically correct' and 'open season'. None of these phrases started out meaning what conference-goers now use them to mean.
23 September 2026
Based on Google Books usage over the last ~25 years. Refreshes each build.
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- MeaningA backhanded complimentA remark that appears to praise someone but contains a hidden insult or criticism.
- MeaningA fig leafSomething used to disguise or cover up a shameful, embarrassing or awkward fact rather than genuinely deal with it.
- MeaningGrey matterA person's intelligence, brainpower or capacity for thought.
- MeaningA sweet toothA strong liking for sweet foods such as sugar, cakes and sweets.
- MeaningA zero-sum gameA situation in which one side's gain is matched exactly by another side's loss, so the total gained and lost across everyone involved comes to nothing.
- MeaningAn open bookSomeone or something whose thoughts, feelings or details are so easy to read or discover that nothing is hidden.
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Phrases.org.uk has been documenting the meaning and origin of phrases, sayings and idioms since 1997. Every entry is researched and written by Gary Martin, with citations to the earliest printed use we can find.
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